Hungary 2006: Button sheds monkey on day for ducks

The common belief that the Hungarian Grand Prix and excitement couldn't go hand-in-hand was debunked as Jenson Button defied the odds and all the weather gods could throw at him to claim his maiden F1 victory.

Despite starting from 14th on the grid after an engine change penalty, the Briton made the most of changeable conditions and perfect strategy from the Honda team to emerge at the head of an unusually formed field to break the 113-race 'losing' streak that had given his detractors a stick to beat him with. Although Button will be the first to admit that the conditions played a part in his triumph, his victory came at just the right time to quell speculation that GP2 points leader Lewis Hamilton would be Britain's next grand prix winner, picking a weekend on which the younger man struggled with the weather.

After the GP2 race had been drenched by the morning downpour, the F1 field lined up on a wet circuit, but with the belief that the road, along with the weather, would dry up as the afternoon went on. The race would be the first wet one of the season, and the first in the Hungaroring's 21-year relationship with Formula One, throwing Saturday's planning out of the window for most of the eleven teams.

Ironically, among those with a lot to gain from the conditions, the penalised Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher - both of whom had had their qualifying efforts hampered by time penalties - could adjust their strategy right up to the moment the pit-lane closed. Button, meanwhile, had made it through to the top ten run-off and was forced to carry his qualifying fuel load into the race, which he would start between the two title contenders.

The first turn in Hungary has a reputation for providing incident, as the field attempts to make most of its best overtaking opportunity, and Sunday was no different, although the change of positions had begun almost as soon as the lights had gone out. Already missing from the line-up was Christian Klien, forced to start from pit-lane after a fuel leak in his race car forced him into the spare Red Bull, while others, including second-placed Felipe Massa and fourth-placed Pedro de la Rosa had had spins on either the formation or warm-up laps, fortunately with no knock-on effect on their grid position.

Poleman Kimi Raikkonen had had no such drama, and duly got the best start to lead the pack into the tightening right-hander. While the Finn pulled away, however, Massa found himself swamped on the 'dirty' side of the grid, with de la Rosa initially holding second, before third-placed starter Rubens Barrichello swept around the outside of the first turn to position himself as chief pursuer.

Further back, Massa had his mirrors full of Giancarlo Fisichella who, in turn, could see Schumacher and Alonso in his, the pair up from eleventh and 15th respectively. Schumacher wasted little time in disposing of the Italian, while both eased past the troubled Massa before the end of the lap, followed by Alonso.

Already out was Sakon Yamamoto, who Super Aguri career took another early exit, while Mark Webber appeared to be in difficulty after plummeting to 17th from fifth on the grid. The Australian last one full lap before being forced to call it a day next time around, his Bridgestones apparently giving him no grip, although his reason for retirement will unofficially be listed as 'wing wedged beneath barrier' following one too many offs.

The Williams man wasn't the only one in trouble early on, as otherwise impressive debutant Robert Kubica also spun on lap two, but rejoined a chastened 15th having been in touching distance of the points on the opening tour. Enjoying better fortunes, Alonso slipped past Renault team-mate Fisichella for fifth, keeping up the pressure on Schumacher who, alone among the Bridgestone runners, appeared to have traction, having started on full wets when most of the field - Michelin or Bridgestone - had opted for intermediates.

The battle between the top two men of the season so far came to a head on lap three, with Schumacher squeezing the faster Alonso towards the pit-lane entry when the Spaniard attempted to pass. The Renault man remained undaunted and, using the wider 'karting' line, as opposed to Schumacher's traditional path, eventually swept around the Ferrari on the run to the chicane.

Button, meanwhile, was beginning his climb up the order in rather more sedate fashion, having only made it to eighth place with a pass on David Coulthard at the end of the previous lap, but was already looking to be among the quickest men on track.

The rain returned with some force on lap five, but not before de la Rosa had caught and passed Barrichello, the Brazilian having also opted for full wets before the start. Curiously, given the worsening conditions, the Honda man was in at the end of the lap to change to inters, emerging in tenth spot. Tonio Liuzzi and Tiago Monteiro, meanwhile, were the next to indulge in a quick, if harmless, moments, while leader Raikkonen continued to pull away comfortably, already 12.5secs clear of Alonso in third.

Button was now making more rapid progress, despatching both Massa and Fisichella in the space of a lap, before homing in on Schumacher's fourth place. The German put up little resistance to his British rival, allowing the Honda to set off after the McLaren 1-2, while the other Ferrari, of Massa, indulged in another spin, dropping him to ninth.

By lap ten, Raikkonen enjoyed a near nine second advantage over team-mate de la Rosa, with Alonso, Button and Schumacher all giving spirited chase. Klien, however, had had his afternoon end on lap eight, halving the Red Bull assault that now relied in veteran Coulthard in seventh, the Scot sandwiched between Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld, who had taken up the BMW cudgels after Kubica's spin.

As the rain intensified, Massa pitted for full wets - at just the moment that Barrichello, now on inters, spun. Bridgestone, however, had little to lose by the Scuderia opting to change its tack, for the majority of its runners were going the wrong way on the leaderboard, if not the circuit. Fifth-placed Schumacher aside, its next best runner was Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, in tenth, with Michelin coming into its own, against expectation, in the wet conditions.

de la Rosa broke the McLaren stranglehold by pitting for inters on lap 16, one ahead of team-mate Raikkonen, whose stop allowed Alonso into the lead. The Spaniard, of course, had been able to brim his fuel tank before heading to the grid, better placed to base his tactics on the conditions, and it was expected that Renault was planning to only stop its champion once in the 70 laps. Raikkonen and the rest of the top ten starters were more likely to be on two-, or even three-, stop strategies, effectively playing into the hands of the new leader.

Schumacher, too, could have been rubbing his hands with glee - had he had the nerve to remove them from the steering wheel - but had seen his race plan upset by a clash with Fisichella. The Italian had been all over the back of the Ferrari for some time, eventually forcing his way through on lap 17. Schumacher, in defending, had understeered across the line, clipping the back of Fisichella's Renault with his front wing, which broke on contact. Thus the German was forced to join Raikkonen on pit-road at the end of the lap, dropping himself to ninth by the time repairs had been completed.

Fisichella did not get away unscathed, however, and, despite carrying on for a lap, suddenly found himself heading for the turn eight tyres, making rearward contact. The car was, remarkably, still a runner but, having dragged it out of the gravel, Fisi discovered that its rear wing was in no shape to give him the grip needed to make it back to the end - or even the pits - and pulled out. He was quickly joined by Nico Rosberg, who car quit on him, capping another miserable day for Williams.

Although there were six more laps before the next incident, in which time Alonso lapped Massa, it was to prove a dramatic interlude. Raikkonen had rejoined in second spot after his pit-stop, but now had team-mate de la Rosa breathing down his neck as both attempted to reel in Alonso's Renault, which was now some 23secs up the road. The track was drying out again, and the McLarens were among the fastest on it, when Raikkonen came up to lap Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso.

The Italian pulled as far to the left as he could without putting wheels on the grass, but Raikkonen, uncharacteristically, misjudged his passing move, and clipped the back of the Toro Rosso. The McLaren rode up over the side of the #20 machine, coming perilously close to Liuzzi's head, before threatening to tip its Finnish occupant on his side. Neither car was fit to continue, and the amount of debris left in their wake left the organisers with no option to deploy the safety car.

The majority of the field took the opportunity to pit under the artificially slowed pace, de la Rosa and Alonso among them, but Button remained on track, finding himself sandwiched between the two erstwhile frontrunners as he did so. Barrichello, who had also headed for fuel and fresh rubber, was now fourth, ahead of Heidfeld, Coulthard, Schumacher Sr and Jr and Massa, with Kubica rounding out the top ten despite having had a second spin that required an unscheduled stop for a new nose. The pack was already becoming both thin and spread out towards the back, with Massa heading those a lap down, and Takuma Sato, Christijan Albers and Monteiro all two laps adrift, even if they were among the 15 cars still running.

At the restart, Alonso quickly opened out an eight-second gap on Button, taking advantage of the fact that the Briton was being held up by a traffic jam headed by former BAR team-mate Sato. The Spaniard, however, also had the hammer down and, as conditions continued to improve, began to post laps that suggested 'slicks' might not be too far away. He swapped fastest laps with Button over the next few tours before Schumacher's Ferrari suddenly appeared with purple numbers next to its name, the Bridgestones finally finding conditions in which they could excel.

The warming sunshine and growing dry line on parts of the track also prompted Scott Speed to call for grooved rubber, but the American rookie quickly came to regret his decision after running wide into turn one and then spinning a couple of corners later. His misfortune not only prompted a return for inters within a couple of laps, but also laid down a marker for the rest of the field, who delayed their own thoughts of a change.

Schumacher may have been setting fastest laps, but it was Button making up ground, zoning in on Alonso at more than half a second lap and getting to within 0.4secs of the Renault before, frustratingly, having to make his next stop. Remembering last year's Belgian GP, Button and Honda opted against changing tyres, keeping the inters that had allowed him to carve into the Spaniard's lead and taking on just under six seconds of fuel, before rejoining in second spot, comfortably ahead of de la Rosa and Barrichello. Schumacher also made his stop at the same time and took the same tactic, but added noticeably more fuel than Button, suggesting that the Briton may have to pit once more before the end.

Despite one last dark cloud hovering menacingly over the circuit, the track continued to dry, but Button's intermediates remained among the rubber of choice, setting a new fastest lap on lap 49. One lap later, however, his team-mate came in to fit dry weather tyres, prompting much of the field to make the same move.

Alonso duly took his turn on pit-lane on lap 51 and, after a typically controlled change by the Renault crew, rejoined in second spot, seemingly well positioned to take advantage of Button's third and final stop. However, things were not well with the R26, which Alonso had trouble getting to round turn one. While many suspected tricky conditions off-line exiting the pits, the world champion knew something more was amiss and, when the car similarly failed to negotiate turn two, was forced to call it a day with the Renault buried in the tyres. First suspicions blamed finger trouble among the crew, but the Spaniard later reported a broken driveshaft.

Alonso's exit appeared to have handed further championship momentum to arch-rival Schumacher - whom he had lapped, with added difficulty, prior to Raikkonen's shunt - as the German was now up to third and poised to hack another chunk of the Spaniard's points lead. With de la Rosa having made his last stop, only Heidfeld sat between the Ferrari and new leader Button, although the Briton was well out in front until making his final stop, and taking on 'slicks' on lap 54.

Although he rejoined in front, just ten seconds split Button from Schumacher when Heidfeld pitted, but the Briton was immediately on it again, setting a new fastest lap at 1min 25.145secs within a couple of tours. Schumacher's attempts to respond were, by now, being hampered by tyres past their best, and the German quickly became a target for both de la Rosa and Heidfeld.

The Spaniard tried repeatedly to pass the Ferrari down the main straight, only to find that Schumacher had a little extra power that kept the McLaren at bay. Undeterred, de la Rosa opted to make his attack elsewhere, picking the chicane at the back of the circuit as the best place to close in. His first attempt, on lap 65, forced Schumacher off-line and through the obstacle but, although he rejoined in front of the McLaren, Schumacher refused to relinquish his illicit advantage, and went wheel-to-wheel with the Spaniard for another couple of laps before de la Rosa's next attempt, at the same place, proved successful.

Their battling had allowed Heidfeld to close right in and, with three laps to run, the BMW man tried his luck at the chicane. Again, the aggressor was ahead as they approached the right-hand entry but, this time, Schumi misjudged his avoidance and clipped the rear of the F1.06, damaging his suspension and steering. While Heidfeld was able to press on with a more lightly wounded machine, the seven-time champion was finding it difficult to even make it back to the pits, the Ferrari crabbing at every corner.

Heidfeld duly moved up into BMW Sauber's first podium position, with Barrichello, Coulthard and Ralf all also shuffling up one spot. Behind the German - who, like DC, had been lapped - the feisty Kubica doubled his debut haul, heading a frustrated Massa home at the end of 70 tough laps.

All of which had taken the attention away from Button, who maintained a growing advantage at the front of the field and eventually came home some 30secs clear of second place. For once, the Honda hadn't let him down and Button's smooth style proved ideal for the tricky conditions, allowing him to nurse his tyres mid-race, while all the while pressing on to put pressure on the frontrunners. His reward was that long-awaited first victory and a chance to stick two fingers up at those who had lauded his arrival in F1, but then turned to decry his lack of achievement. The monkey had finally been banished.